Blackfinn Ameripub renovating St. Johns Town Center location

Blackfinn American Grille, now called Blackfinn Ameripub, is renovating its 4-year-old Jacksonville restaurant near St. Johns Town Center.

The restaurant opened Sept. 23, 2010, and says on the blackfinnameripub.com site that in celebration of its four-year anniversary, it is bringing an updated look, new menu items, cocktails on tap, a private dining room and more.

Sachse Construction & Development Corp., based in Detroit, Mich., pulled permits Friday for a two-phase interior renovation of the almost 9,700-square-foot building and its 2,400-square-foot patio area.

Blackfinn Jax LLC operates the restaurant, at 4840 Big Island Drive, No. 5, in The Markets at Town Center adjacent to St. Johns Town Center.

Hostess Danielle Hancock said Tuesday the work should be completed Aug. 23. She said there will be more seating with the removal of a wall between the grill and dining room; wall murals, new painting, new TVs and other features in the saloon; and painting and more TVs on the patio.

Each of the two permits shows a job cost of $96,760, totaling $193,520.

Blackfinn Ameripub describes itself as “born to be a whole new generation of the classic American pub, a lively restaurant and bar that offers the affordable, craveable American food our guests want to eat.”

Almost a month after investor Marcus Lemonis bought the historic Seminole Club Downtown for $550,000, the city issued a permit for interior demolition of the three-story structure.

C.W.R. Inc. is the contractor for the $35,000 interior demolition project, covering 25,089 square feet at the building at 400 N. Hogan St.

Lemonis, chairman and CEO of Camping World Inc., bought the building July 2 through Jax Club Property LLC, which was registered with the state June 12.

Jax Club Property bought the building from Royal Bank America of Philadelphia. Royal Bank America acquired the structure on July 22, 2010, in a certificate of sale from 400 N. Hogan Street LLC, 233 W. Duval Street LLC and Christos and Nadia Hionides.

Chris Hionides is the manager of the two limited liability companies.

The Seminole Club carries a historic designation. The structure was reportedly built in 1902-03. With a gross area of 26,791 square feet, the building carries a market value of $742,600, property records show, and an assessed value of $458,260.

Across Hogan Street from City Hall, the building, which has operated as a private club, has been vacant.

The Los Angeles Times reported July 10 that Lemonis, the star of CNBC’s “The Profit” TV Series and the buyer of Sweet Pete’s, said he and another investor also were interested in buying New York-based Crumbs Bake Shop. Lemonis wants to incorporate Sweet Pete’s and other brands into a new Crumbs entity.

House of Dog to open in Mandarin

The House of Dog is renovating space in San Jose Plaza in Mandarin for an almost 3,600-square-foot restaurant.

GreatKosherRestaurants.com reports that the relatively new Miami Beach hot dog restaurant announced it would open a third location in Jacksonville before its second location opened in Boca Raton.

The site said the House of Dog brand is only a couple years old and is aggressively expanding northbound.

The website reviewed House of Dog in Miami Beach and described the menu of hot dogs and sausages, burgers, rib steaks, Belgian fries, deli sandwiches, wings, corn dogs and more. There also are beers and flavored sodas.

Restaurants on the rise

• Sonic America’s Drive-In at 5080 Butler Blvd. wants to remove its existing patio area for an addition to feature 57 seats along with six new LCD TVs. The $410,000 remodeling will add a 1,092-square-foot dining area to the existing building.

• Applebee’s wants to create a 44-seat patio addition at its St. Johns Town Center restaurant at 4507 Town Center Parkway. It’s an $80,000 project.

• Mellow Mushroom filed plans for currency review for its planned River City Marketplace restaurant. The 5,750-square-foot restaurant is designed for a 1.2-acre site along Max Leggett Parkway in the Parkway Shops.

• Dunkin’ Donuts wants to build-out space at 12453 Philips Highway at a gas station that will be remodeled to accommodate it.

• PDQ will open its Julington Creek restaurant Sunday. The first area “People Dedicated to Quality” opened Nov. 3 at Beach and Hodges boulevards and the second opened March 3 at 13702 Old St. Augustine Road in Bartram Park. A fourth should open in OakLeaf Town Center in November. Former University of Florida star quarterback Tim Tebow is an investor in the area restaurants.

Food bites

Food- and drink-related businesses filed names recently with the state Division of Corporations under the Fictitious Name Law to operate: